|
Plays-in-the-Park
Plays-in-the-Park is a government-sponsored outdoor amphitheater located in Edison, New Jersey. Middlesex County's Plays-in-the-Park has been in existence since 1963. Generally, three full-scale musical productions run in the summer, from June to August. In the fall, the theater is transformed into a black box where the annual children's show takes place; the indoor children's musical tradition began in 1992. In the winter, Plays-in-the-Park uses the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ to put on their final show of the season. Plays-in-the-Park has been using the State Theater for their annual production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat since 1994. History In 1963, community theater volunteers contacted the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders asking for financial support in their endeavor to find a space to produce shows in the summer months. With only enough funding budgeted to construct a storage shed, a compromise was met. In the summer, the shed wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edison, New Jersey
Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It is a bedroom community of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Edison had a total population of 107,588, making it the sixth-most populous municipality in New Jersey after ranking fifth in 2010. What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway Township and Woodbridge Township. The township got its original name from the Raritan indigenous people. Portions of the township were taken to form Metuchen on March 20, 1900, and Highland Park on March 15, 1905. The name was officially changed to Edison Township on November 10, 1954, in honor of inventor Thomas Edison, who had hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with much of the plot centered on Judas, who is dissatisfied with the direction in which Jesus is steering his disciples. Contemporary attitudes, sensibilities and slang pervade the rock opera's lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the depiction of political events. Stage and film productions accordingly contain many intentional anachronisms. Initially unable to get backing for a stage production, the composers released it as a concept album, the success of which led to the show's Broadway on-stage debut in 1971. By 1980, the musical had grossed more than worldwide. Running for over eight years in London between 1972 and 1980, it held the record for longest-running West End musical before it was overtaken by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1776 (musical)
''1776'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The show is based on the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, telling a story of the efforts of John Adams to persuade his colleagues to vote for American independence and to sign the document. The show premiered on Broadway in 1969, earning warm reviews, and ran for 1,217 performances. The production won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In 1972, it was made into a film adaptation. It was revived on Broadway in 1997, and again in 2022 with a cast made up of people who identify as female, trans, and non-binary. History In 1925, Rodgers and Hart wrote a musical about the American Revolution called '' Dearest Enemy''.Green, Stanley. ''Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre'', pp. 373–74. Jefferson, N.C.: Da Capo Press, 1980. In 1950, a musical about the Revolution was presented on Broadway, titled ''Arms and the Girl'', with music by Morton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godspell (1971 Off-Broadway Cast)
''Godspell (1971 Off-Broadway Cast)'' is the original cast recording of the Cherry Lane Theatre production of ''Godspell''. It produced a radio hit in the summer of 1972 with "Day By Day" with Robin Lamont on the lead vocal. The image of the face on the album cover was designed by David Byrd. Track listing Music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz except as indicated. # "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord" – 2:03 # "Save the People" – 3:24 # " Day by Day" – 3:16 # "Learn Your Lessons Well" – 1:25 # "Bless the Lord" – 3:01 # "All for the Best" – 2:31 # "All Good Gifts" – 3:33 # "Light of the World" – 2:59 # "Turn Back, O Man" – 4:20 # "Alas for You" – 2:01 # "By My Side" (lyric by Jay Hamburger / music by Peggy Gordon) – 2:42 # "We Beseech Thee" – 3:37 # "On the Willows" – 3:07 # "Finale" – 5:40 # "Day By Day (Reprise)" – 1:56 Cast * Lamar Alford – piano, vocals *Peggy Gordon – guitar, vocals *David Haskell – shofar, vocals *Joanne Jonas – vocal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hairspray (musical)
''Hairspray'' is an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, with a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters's 1988 film of the same name. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the production follows teenage Tracy Turnblad's dream to dance on ''The Corny Collins Show'', a local TV dance program based on the real-life '' Buddy Deane Show''. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show's integration. The musical opened in Seattle in 2002 and moved to Broadway later that year. In 2003 ''Hairspray'' won eight Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical, out of 13 nominations. It ran for 2,642 performances, and closed on January 4, 2009. ''Hairspray'' has also had national tours, a West End production, and numerous foreign productions and was adapted as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annie (musical)
''Annie'' is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip '' Little Orphan Annie'' and loosely based on the 1885 poem " Little Orphant Annie" written by James Whitcomb Riley. The musical includes music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and a book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre). It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won seven Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical's songs "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life" are among its most popular musical numbers. Background Charnin first approached Meehan to write the book of a musical about ''Little Orphan Annie'' in 1972. Meehan researched by rereading prints of the comic strip, but was unable to find any satisfactory material for a musical other than the characters of Annie, Oliver Warbucks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grease (musical)
''Grease'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers, the musical is set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School (based on Taft High School in Chicago, Illinois and named after rock singer Bobby Rydell) and follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values, and love.Woulfe, Molly" 'Grease' has deep, dark Chicago roots"''NW Times'', January 2, 2009, retrieved January 10, 2017 The score borrows heavily from the sounds of early rock and roll. In its original production in Chicago, ''Grease'' was a raunchy, raw, aggressive, vulgar show. Subsequent productions toned down the more risqué content. The show mentions social issues such as teenage pregnancy, peer pressure, and gang violence; its themes include love, friendship, teenage rebellion, sexual exploration during adolescence, and, to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damn Yankees
''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball. It is based on Wallop's 1954 novel '' The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant''. The show ran for 1,019 performances in its original Broadway production. Adler and Ross's success with it and '' The Pajama Game'' seemed to point to a bright future for them, but Ross suddenly died of chronic bronchiectasis at age 29, several months after ''Damn Yankees'' opened. Plot NOTE: This is the plot of the 1994 Broadway revival of the show; there are differences from the original 1955 version. For the 1958 film version, see ''Damn Yankees'' (film). Middle-aged real estate agent Joe Boyd is a long-suffering fan of the pathetic Washington Senators baseball team. His wife, Meg, lam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phonetics, phonetician, so that she may pass as a lady. Despite his cynical nature and difficulty understanding women, Higgins grows attached to her. The musical's 1956 Broadway theater, Broadway production was a notable critical and popular success, winning six Tony Awards, including Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Musical. It set a record for the Long-running musical theatre productions, longest run of any musical on Broadway up to that time and was followed by a hit London production. Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews starred in both productions. Many revivals have followed, and the 1964 My Fair Lady (film), film version won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Plot Act I In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xanadu (musical)
''Xanadu'' is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 film of the same name, which was, in turn, inspired by the 1947 Rita Hayworth film '' Down to Earth''. The title refers to Xanadu, the site of the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan's summer palace. The musical opened on Broadway in 2007 and ran for over 500 performances. It earned an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Best Book. It was also nominated for Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Book. The US Tour officially began on December 15, 2009, at the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center. Background The 1980 film on which ''Xanadu'' is based barely recouped its $20 million production budget at the box office and received uniformly unfavorable reviews, but the soundtrack was a commercial hit, as were several of the songs singularly. Although the film was nominated for six Razzies, winning one for Worst Directo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spamalot
''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion picture, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian legend, but it differs from the film in many ways. The original 2005 Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, received 14 Tony Awards nominations, winning in three categories, including Best Musical. During its initial run of 1,575 performances, it was seen by more than two million people and grossed over $175 million. Tim Curry starred as King Arthur in the original Broadway and West End productions. It was one of eight UK musicals commemorated on Royal Mail stamps, issued in February 2011. A Paramount Pictures film adaptation, directed by Casey Nicholaw in his directorial debut from a script by Idle, was in pre-production as of 2021. Synopsis Before the show A recording ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Misérables (musical)
''Les Misérables'' ( , ), colloquially known as ''Les Mis'' or ''Les Miz'' ( ), is a sung-through musical and an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name, by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel (original French lyrics) and Herbert Kretzmer (English lyrics). The original French musical premiered in Paris in 1980 with direction by Robert Hossein. Its English-language adaptation by producer Cameron Mackintosh has been running in London since October 1985, making it the longest-running musical in the West End and the second longest-running musical in the world after the original Off-Broadway run of '' The Fantasticks''. Set in early 19th-century France, ''Les Misérables'' is the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his desire for redemption, released in 1815 after serving nineteen years in jail for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister's starving child. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
